Visual Art

Museums Sheffield is home to over 6000 paintings, sculptures, photographs, drawings, prints and watercolours. The Visual Art Collection is extremely varied, reflecting the personal interests of directors and curators over the past 125 years and in particular two main benefactors, John Newton Mappin (1800 - 1883) and John George Graves (1866 - 1945).

The Visual Art Collection comprises mainly British and European works from the 16th century to the present day. Its strength lies in the Modern British Collection which is one of the most important in the country outside London. It contains works by key 20th century artists including L S Lowry, Henry Moore, Vanessa Bell, Stanley Spencer, David Bomberg, Gwen John, Frank Auerbach and Paul Nash. The collection also includes contemporary art works by significant British artists such as Sutapa Biswas, Hew Locke, Marc Quinn and Sam Taylor-Wood.

Highlights of the European Collection include work by Paul Cezanne, Paul Gauguin, Camille Pissarro, Pierre Bonnard, Pablo Picasso and Henri Toulouse-Lautrec. The development of painting in the 18th and 19th centuries is illustrated through the works of artists such as JMW Turner, David Roberts and painters associated with the Pre-Raphaelite movement such as Edward Coley Burne-Jones and John Brett. While the oldest paintings in the collection are by 16th and 17th century Old Masters including Daniel Mytens, Luis de Morales, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo and Giulio Cesare Procaccini.

The Graves Gallery displays the highlights of the Visual Art Collection, while other works are also on display in About Art and Sheffield Life and Times at Weston Park Museum.

Explore the Visual Art collections here or search for more paintings from Museums Sheffield on Art UK. Our online collection currently only represents a selection of Visual Art at Museums Sheffield but we are working to add more records.

Please note that these works may not be on view when you visit the galleries.

Trying something new can be a little bit scary, but what a great feeling when you make the connection. We're trying new things all the time and we want you to try them too, so come with us and we'll help connect you with art, nature, history, ideas - and each other.